Cycle Shorts: How The Bicycle Thieves Changed Ken Loach’s Life

17/05/2012

One of UK’s greatest filmmakers, Ken Loach, will be in competition at this year’s Festival de Cannes with his latest film The Angel’s Share.

Ken Loach’s career as a director started in 1964 and he has accomplished 48 credits to his name since then. But did you know that the film which changed his life was The Bicycle Thieves? He explains that he wasn’t interested in cinema as a child and preferred theatre. But it wasn’t until he watched Vittorio De Sica’s classic film, The Bicycle Thieves, that he realised films can also be about real people.

This is what ourCycle Shorts filmmaking competition is also about: real people. We simply want you to make a film to convince your friends and/or family to try jumping back onto two wheels and giving cycling another go. Or if they haven’t cycled before, to try it just once.

In the meantime, we’re keeping our fingers crossed for Ken Loach and his film at Cannes. Here is the trailer to The Angel’s Share, if you haven’t seen it yet.

Does it make you want to go see the film?

For Ken Loach’s full interview, click here and for our blog post on The Bicycle Thieves, click here.